NFL Week 15 Stop Factor rankings: Race tightens for the number one spot

Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.

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With two weeks remaining in the NFL regular season, the Chicago Bears defense has taken the lead in the weekly NFL Stop factor rankings. The Bears “D” jumped over the San Francisco 49ers defense for first place in these rankings after the 49ers defense gave up 34 points in their win last Sunday night against the New England Patriots.

The surprising Seattle Seahawks, who host the 49ers tomorrow in Seattle, have moved in to second place in the rankings ahead of the 49ers.

(The Stop Factor is based on the premise that it is the defense’s job to stop their opponents from scoring on each possession. To get a team’s STOP Factor, you divide the number of times a defense stops the offense from scoring – offensive unit TD or field goal – by the number of total possessions by the opposition.)

Following is each NFL teams’ Stop Factor. Listed is how many times each team stopped the opponents from scoring, the number of possessions their opponents had, and the percentage of possessions that each team prevented the other team from scoring (stats are through Week 15 games).